Mystery Skulls - Ghost
by Mistseer
Summary: If you haven't already, watch Mystery Skulls Animated- Ghost. This story is mainly told from the viewpoint of Arthur, and is my interpretation of that video along with some extra pieces. Hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Ghost

Arthur sat in the driver's seat, gripping the steering wheel with both arms; one of them flesh and bone, the other bionic. He was still not used to this metal replacement arm- being able to control the appendage like it was his but not being able to feel it. Still, he felt like he was getting better with experience. Arthur was tall and lanky, with large eyebrows and bright orange hair. His amber eyes scanned empty road ahead of them, but he wasn't really paying attention. It's not like there was going to be anything on it, anyway.

Arthur had decided to take the long, uninhabited scenic route, through sloping green hills and picturesque old barn houses, not because he cared for the beautiful scenes, but because he had no idea where to go and didn't want to stop and have to find one. So for now he just kept going, drawing out each mile as long as he could. His friend, Vivi, sat in the passenger seat next to him, grooving to a catchy song on the radio with the volume turned up way too loud. If Arthur had heard this song a couple of weeks ago he probably would have liked it; it had a good, up-beat feel and the singer was pretty talented, but as of now he couldn't bring himself to care. Vivi once again turned up the volume, which was already near full blast and starting to hurt Arthur's ears.

One look at Vivi would tell you she had an affinity for blue. Right now it was especially apparent; her socks, shoes, skirt, scarf, and sweater were all shades of blue. Even her eyes were a bright, solid teal, and she had dyed her hair to match them. The only thing on her that didn't resemble the sky was her glasses, which had hot pink lenses.

Less obvious than her color preferences were her interests. She, unlike Arthur, loved all things supernatural and got a thrill out of exploring supposedly haunted sites. She was also very bright and cheerful, and could usually light up rooms with just her personality. But in the shadow of recent events this light seemed out of place, even more disturbing than the gloom that surrounded them, like laughter in a cemetery. At first Arthur had thought she was just in shock or denial or something, but now he was starting to feel like something was wrong with her.

Between them Arthur's dog, Mystery, surreptitiously reached out a paw and turned the volume dial down. Arthur had long ago come to terms with the fact that his dog was about as smart as a human being, if not smarter. When he had first found the white dog he named him Ben, but after discovering the dog's peculiar nature he felt that Ben was too plain a name, and had taken to calling him Mystery. It was only recently, however, that he had come to realize his canine friend may not be a dog at all. Arthur had no idea what else he (it?) could be, though. He would've asked Vivi about it, who knew a ton more about supernatural lore than him, except that it might bring up the subject of Lewis. Each time he had tried to talk about it with her, she had shrugged it off like it was no big deal, like their best friend hadn't just _died _(murdered) (shut up). It unnerved him, so eventually he started avoiding the subject.

Ever since the event Mystery had been acting strange, too. He had always protective, but now he was bordering on fanatical. Mystery followed them like a shadow, and didn't seem to ever need to sleep. Most of all he hated it when they split up; he wanted to keep both of them in his sights at all times. This annoyed Arthur, because he could really use some time away from happy, bright, cheerful Vivi.

Just as he was thinking this the van started to slow down. Arthur pressed down on the gas pedal, but nothing happened. Barely making the crest of a hill, momentum carried them another 20 yards until the car came to a complete stop.

"_Arthuuur..."_ Vivi sighed, eyeing the fuel meter that now pointed to a bright orange E._ "_Were you cheap and didn't fill the gas tank all the way up or something? If you were short on money you could've just asked, you know."

"I wasn't being cheap!" Arthur protested. "I don't know why we stopped; it was fine just a minute ago."

"Suuuuuuure."

"Shut up. D'you think there are any farms around here that aren't deserted?" Arthur asked dishearteningly. He really regretted taking the scenic route now, the last sign of civilization had been miles ago.

"Look at that!" Vivi said suddenly. Arthur looked. A little ways away was what appeared to be a mansion. Though it did not look as deprecated as the other buildings around this area (of which there were few), it still had an abandoned feel to it, as if someone had built it and then just left it. That could have just been the weird shadows the quarter moon cast upon everything, though.

"It probably belongs to some snobby rich guy." Vivi said. "Or maybe," she added with a grin, "it's _haunted._"

"Shut up," he said again, though this there was a trace or worry in his voice.

"I was just joking," Vivi laughed, "I'm going to ring the front door," She added, hopping out of the passenger seat.

"No, Vivi, wait-" but it was too late. She was already running across the overgrown grass to the mansion. Despite her height, she was fast.

"God damn it Vivi," Arthur muttered angrily, hopping into the cool night air himself. Mystery was already running after Vivi.

Arthur caught up to them, panting, where Vivi had stopped before the great house, looking transfixed. Arthur looked up too, and saw that the mansion was more deprecated than he had thought at first. What the dark night and distance had obscured was boarded up windows, ivy growing wild up walls, and paint peeling off the walls and railings that led to the porch. It was somewhat disproportional, too, like someone had taken a bunch of very similar but ultimately different houses and clumped them together into one big mansion. The broken windows beside the door had different frames. Walls extended further or shorter than they should have, and the roof was lopsided. Arthur knew he had never seen a house like this before, but it still seemed strangely familiar, as if he had lived there in a dream.

Arthur knocked on the large front door. There was no answer. He knocked again, louder.

"I don't think anybody lives here, Vivi. We should go," he said, eager to get away from the mansion. Something about it seemed hostile. If it was alive, Arthur would have sworn it was glaring at him.

"Did you try to open it?" Vivi asked.

"What? No. It's not our house, we can't do-"

"It's _abandoned_, who cares? Anyway, it's not like we have anything better to do," she added with an accusatory glance at him, "might as well explore the place."

To Arthur's despair, the door opened effortlessly when Vivi touched turned the handle. She waltzed inside with Mystery at her heels. Arthur reluctantly followed her, not wanting to go inside but not wanting to be left behind, either.

After a few uneventful seconds passed Arthur released the breath he had been holding. Other than the foreboding feeling that always seemed to surround vacant places, there was nothing out of the ordinary here.

He was just being paranoid, as usual.

He wished he wasn't so scared of everything.

He wished he was strong.

Arthur walked further down the moonlit hallway, ashamed of the way his heart raced despite his better judgment.

And then the doors closed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! So here is the next chapter. Sorry for the bit of a wait, but honestly that was pretty fast for me. Anyway, enjoy!**

Chapter 2

Everything was pitch dark.

"Vivi? Mystery? Where are you?" Arthur called out anxiously.

"Arthur?" Vivi called out from somewhere ahead. "Why did you close the door, I can't see anything!"

"I didn't close it!" He said, stumbling back in the direction he knew the door was. He found what felt like the handle- he pushed, he pulled, and twisted with all the strength of his bionic arm, but the door didn't move an inch.

"I can't open the door, Vivi! It's stuck!"

"That doesn't matter!" She called back happily from somewhere behind him. "Look!" Arthur turned to look, despite the fact that he couldn't see anything, and-

His insides froze. Illuminated by a ghastly light, Vivi was pointing towards a single, purple flame that floated between them.

Mystery whined. No one paid attention.

Arthur couldn't move. This could _not_. Be happening. _Again_. As if in protest of that very thought the flame moved of its own accord, lighting up ornate candles that hung along the wall with the same purple light.

Arthur tried the door one more time, then gave up and ran down the short entrance hall to where Vivi and Mystery were. He was suddenly aware of a faint, rhythmic pounding in his ears that he might have mistaken for his own heartbeat had his heart not been beating at least twice as fast with terror.

The flame had settled in a grand chandelier that illuminated a large foyer before them. Though significantly less deprecated, the great room was vaguely distorted like the exterior of the house. Edges were too sharp. Steps of a large staircase were not quite level. The innumerable doors and hallways all leading into darkness were placed at odd, uneven intervals. Imposing suits of armor were twisted in ways so that Arthur wasn't sure if a man could actually fit into one. Everything was… off. And like the exterior of the house, the whole place seemed distantly familiar. But Arthur did not care about the details or familiarity of the room he was standing in. He did not wonder about the source of the beating sound on the edge of his hearing.

Because they had to get out of here-

They had to get out of here _now-_

Before anyone else got hurt.

Vivi suddenly laughed, breaking his anxious concentration. Arthur turned towards her- had she gone crazy? But Vivi had always been like this. She had always enjoyed being in dangerous, unknown situations. Situations that made her feel alive. She couldn't accept provided answers. She had to see, feel, risk her life to experience something herself. That's why she had gone miles and miles searching for ghosts. And eventually she had found one.

But despite her reckless, fiery nature, Vivi had always been human. Sometimes she was happy, and sometimes she was sad, angry, confused, lonely, bored, or frustrated. But after what had happened with Lewis, she was none of those. None but happy and euphoric. She was something Arthur couldn't relate to anymore. So he knew it was useless. But he still tried.

"Vivi, we need to go. Please, help me find a way out!" Arthur whispered quietly, urgently. He didn't know why he whispered- there was just an oppressive quality in the air that made it hard to talk openly.

"What!?" Vivi exclaimed openly, appalled by the notion. "C'mon! We _have _to explore this place. It's more haunted than the cave!"

_That's my point! _Arthur thought, but the words never left his mouth. Hovering in the foyer just a few yards away from them was a ghost.

It was opaque, yet it seemed anything but solid. There was a suggestion of a human figure in its obscure shape; insubstantial limbs that may have been arms, slight indents where eyes might have gone, but the edges were blurred so that it was mostly formless. Its indistinct features gave it serene and somewhat purposeless look, as if it was waiting for nothing. The ghost was colored all purple except for a single, golden light that glowed in what (Arthur assumed) was the center of its chest. The light pulsed in time with the strange beat that had, unnoticed by Arthur, been steadily growing louder so that he no longer had to strain his ears to hear it.

The ghost appeared to either not notice or not care about their presence, as it continued to float aimlessly in the center of the room. Although it didn't seem hostile (or even attentive), Arthur was taking no chances. He grabbed Vivi's wrist and was about to lead her back to the locked front door (maybe he could force it open?) when the ghost did something strange. It began to sing.

Quietly, quietly, the notes reached Arthur's ears. Immediately Arthur was reminded of loss- the loss of his parents, the loss of Lewis- but, no, that was not quite right. This was not the razor-sharp pain of having what you thought was a constant, immutable presence in your life torn for you. The song of the ghost was not as painful as sheer loss yet seemed even more tragic- it was the emptiness of life. It was a sick, drenching realization that all of humanity and human endeavor from the dawn of time didn't matter. It simply didn't matter. Old age, sickness, death- no one escapes. Most people were happy wasting their lives with the thin veil of purpose cast over the human predicament that made it seem less repugnant and horrible, but as if the glow from the ghost's heart cast a light onto what had always been in shadow, humanity was unveiled to Arthur! It was rotten top to bottom.

Arthur let go of Vivi's hand. He didn't feel like running. More purple ghosts were gathering in the foyer to add their soft voices to the song, and they slowly began to drift towards the group. But all Arthur could think about was people, people who swarmed the earth like ants, who lied and helped others and cheated and laughed and worked and spent their time and money on drugs and wrote books or painted masterpieces and murdered each other and created more people to do the exact same things. And every false smile and word said but not meant and actions taken to please others like actors trying to create a point to a play without a plot. Restless nights spent obsessively worrying about all of these things that did not matter. They could not matter.

/

Vivi was _so _glad she hadn't followed Arthur's advice to leave because that ghost. Was. Adorable! She really wanted to hug him except she wasn't sure if her hands would just go through him. She had never seen one up close before (or at all, really) but it was even cooler than she had imagined! What was that light for? Was it his heart? Can he _talk_? Vivi really hoped he could, she had _so _many questions. Vivi was just deciding how to greet the ghost (Hello? Nice to meet you Mr. Ghost? What's being a ghost like?) when Arthur grabbed her wrist.

He looked scared (as usual). Vivi sighed internally; it was times like these when she missed Lewis. It was no fun exploring with a complete scaredy-cat all the time. But not even Arthur could bring down her mood because there was a real-death ghost right in front of- Oh. My. God. The ghost was _singing_. Vivi was _so _glad Arthur had been skimpy with gas. They would have drove right passed this place! In all honesty the ghost's singing wasn't very good, it was all low, flat notes and there wasn't any discernible tune, but it was still incredibly cute. Vivi didn't think the ghost could do anything that wasn't cute. More ghosts seemed to appear from nowhere as the room was suddenly full of them, all singing discordantly (but still cutely).

Arthur wasn't saying anything and had let go of her wrist, which was weird. She turned towards him. He didn't look scared anymore (which was also weird), just sort of… blank. Mystery growled at one of the ghosts, which seemed to be slowly coming towards them.

"Yo, Arthur?"

**I'm taking a different spin on the generally accepted "Vivi forgot everything about Lewis," as I hoped was obvious by the Arthur's description of her in the first chapter. Also, I must admit that this section "It was a sick, drenching... it was rotten top to bottom" was LARGELY influenced (i.e. borderline plagiarism) by Donna Tart's ****_The Goldfinch _****(which is a great book that should be read by everyone who reads). It wasn't the exact same, of course, but it was too similar for me to not own up to it without feeling like I was lying. Anyway, two chapter's down and we're a total of 45 seconds into the song! (This was meant to be a ****_short _****story XD) I dunno when the next chapter shall come out, but I shall try to be timely with it. Ciao' for now.**


End file.
